Barbara Saskia Design

I cannot recommend Barbara Saskia highly enough. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed working with Barbara on two different projects - first an apartment in an urban setting with a modern feel and then a traditional Colonial house in a suburb. When we first met her, she did a wonderful job of listening to us describe our likes and dislikes, and not just in the areas of design and decorating, and then taking that information to put together design suggestions that met all of our needs while keeping with a style that we both liked very much. She even noticed some things about us that we never actually articulated, but that she could glean from seeing the things in our apartment and asking us about how we live, etc. Once she pointed those things out and incorporated elements into the design, it made it feel even more personal and representative of us. We just recently finished our second project with her in our new home. We are just as pleased with the outcome as we were with the apartment. It's a very different living space but again, everything Barbara recommended worked for us personally and within the style of the house.

When I decided to purchase a loft apartment downtown, my first concern was "how do I create a design to match the modern facade and interior?" In the past my living space has always been a haphazard mix of different pieces. I feel I am someone that has good taste, but not necessarily the creativity to properly express it. That's when I decided to seek help. Barbara was strongly recommended by a friend. At our first meeting two things immediately became apparent: Rather than dictate a particular plan, Barbara was able to solicit ideas from me and then start to create design. Also, she was able to ask questions that enabled me to pinpoint the colors and theme I found most interesting. The end result is a beautifully integrated space. Barbara and I created a master plan that dictated furniture and color choices that work in concert. I have been in the apartment for over 3 years and continue to enjoy it. I would strongly advise anyone looking for a talented consultative designer to consider Barbara.

My husband and I used Barbara for some design work to our Manhattan apartment. Prior to finding her, we had engaged a couple of other firms whose rigid terms and unreasonable budget expectations turned us off. We had several things we wanted to accomplish within a fixed budget, and Barbara assured us right away that she could be flexible with whatever constraints we had. What I appreciated more than anything is that Barbara is as interested in the process of design as she is in getting the right results. The three of us had a series of meetings in our home where she explored every aspect of our lifestyle, background, preferences, hopes, etc. We had great, fun discussions about favorite foods, clothes, and travel destinations and it was through those conversations that she was able to get a sense for our personalities and aesthetic. From there we were able to seamlessly move into productive discussions about colors, layout and furniture styles. Once we had an overall vision, Barbara presented us with a great variety of options at differing price-points and was very patient as we worked through our preferences. Her taste is impeccable, with (in our case at least) emphasis on fun, innovative solutions that we would have never come up with ourselves. With our decisions made, Barbara was always accessible by phone, email or in person and became a valuable resource for all parts of the execution phase – from finding us great contractors to helping coordinate payment and delivery details. She always had an abundance of energy, creative ideas and enthusiasm about our project. We are thrilled with the outcome, with pieces that are comfortable for our family of 4 (including 2 little kids) yet modern, colorful and unique. After it was all over, I started to miss our visits! Barbara was a pleasure to work with from start to finish.

I hired Barbara to remodel my Harlem Townhouse Apartment. We ended up gutting the whole place and put in a new kitchen and bathroom. She told me: “If you can’t do it right, don’t do it.” So I decided to do it right and it was well worth it! She recommended a great contractor and I’m still amazed at the end result. She had to stay within my tight budged, so she proposed Ikea cabinets for the kitchen, yet she managed to make it look like a luxurious Italian kitchen! Barbara just really understood what I needed. I wanted a practical, masculine and sophisticated place. And she managed to translate my vague vision into an incredible reality. She understands color like no one else, it blew my mind. She designed the whole bathroom around a shower curtain, which had a complex set of colors! I was very skeptical, but ended up trusting her and the end result is absolutely stunning. She knows how to create little surprises using color, she calls it: “fighting boredom”. I got so many compliments for my place and since I’m renting out the apartment when I’m not there, it really helped having her professional pictures to promote it. Working with Barbara was a design education for me, besides a lot of fun and I would highly recommend her to anyone. Dan

We hired Barbara, initially, to help us redecorate our very outdated and staid foyer and living room. Barbara took the time to get to know us and our likes and dislikes and she presented us with several plans to choose from. All her designs were fabulous - with exciting and bold colors, fabrics and furniture - things we never would have thought of on our own. Barbara gently coaxed us out of our beige mentality, and we couldn't be happier with the results. Visitors love the look of our new living room. We were so happy working with Barbara that we have hired her two more times to redecorate rooms in our apartment. Barbara is a total pleasure to work with and we continue to be thrilled with the design options that she presents to us.